The Newa community is celebrating Gai Jatra today in Kathmandu’s Basantpur Durbar Square. This annual festival carries significant cultural and religious meaning, as it honours those who have passed away in the past year.
Traditionally, people dressed as cows, and sometimes actual cows, are paraded through the streets to commemorate deceased relatives. There’s also a custom of offering food items like fruits, bread, grains, milk, and curd to those participating in the procession as cows.
Religious beliefs suggest that by joining the procession, the family members of the deceased help their loved one’s soul cross the mythical Baitarani River with the aid of a cow.
The festival traces its origins to King Pratap Malla, who established Gai Jatra to comfort his grieving queen, showing her that she was not alone in her sorrow. When this failed to uplift her spirits, he instructed the public to incorporate satire and humour into the procession.
Even today, the Gai Jatra procession passes by the historic Royal Palace at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square. Although Gai Jatra is observed in various cities across the country, the celebration in the Valley is particularly distinctive.
